See Ya Later
by iChuckles
Summary: Brought up in the World of the Living a young Shinigami must make the choice to stay or leave. (Haven't decided on a set pairing yet. I'm kinda of just going it at this point. Though, it will either be Shuuhei, Renji or Ikkaku)
1. Prologue

The Seireitei was silent as the wind flowed softly through the streets hushing any sound that may have been heard. Far away from the prying ears and eyes of their fellow Shinigami, two figures stood near one of the gates as if waiting for something, or rather yet, someone. No words were exchanged between the two of them, just silence. With the wind blowing long tendrils of hair around her face the young woman stared into the darkness waiting for her escort as she absentmindedly rubbed the small bulge in her belly. As she began to grow more restless with each passing moment her ears perked when she heard the soft clatter of wooden sandals against the ground. Squinting her eyes she watched as a lone figure walked out of the shadows donning a straw hat and cane.

"I apologize for being late. There were some small hiccups on my way here," chuckled the man. Try as she might she could not bring herself to be mad at him for simply being himself; a lazy, no good bastard with a talent for making up excuses to not do something. Even with all that in mind she knew that she could rely on him in this dire situation.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Urahara," bowed the young woman.

"You can drop the formalities, Izzy, we're all friends here…," he trailed off looking to the man before adding, "For the most part."

"Tch," was the man in questions only response to straw hat's comment. "Now where the hell is Hisa? We ain't got all night for this."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Zaraki, I'm here," responded a new voice as a young woman with short black hair and bangs clipped to the side to show her large brown eyes. Once on the ground she made her way over to the mother-to-be. "How are you, Isolde?"

"We are well, Hisa, and thank you," smiled the woman called, Isolde.

"There's really no need to thank me. You are my best friend and sister. It's my duty to help you no matter what. Now let's see how little Taliah's doing." Sitting down on her knees in front of the other woman she reached up to her belly without actually touching it. Closing her eyes her hands began to glow as she listened for anything. That's when she felt and heard the soft rhythm of a small heart beating in the other woman's belly. "Little Taliah is doing just fine, Isolde," she said as stood up dusting off her knees before looking at her companion. "But how is mommy doing?"

At that question she found herself looking to the man who hadn't said a word in quite a while. Although most would be intimidated by his tall stature and gruff appearance, she wasn't. When he noticed her looking at him he raised a brow.

"What? I got something on my face or something?"

"I'll be fine," she sighed, looking back to Hisa. "Besides, I have to be, for her at least," she added looking down at her belly as she softly rubbed circles into it.

Just then they heard the low rumble of footsteps and shouts from a distances. Looking towards Kenpachi she saw that he had gotten into his fighting stance looking away from them. "You three need to leave now," he growled, scanning the area for any signs of movement.

Looking to each other quite frantically they ran to the straw hat man who opened up a portal of some sort. Before she got to him she turned on her heel and darted back to the gorilla protecting them. Without any sort of hesitation when she got to him she stood on the tips of her toes to whisper in his ear. The rumble of footsteps grew louder making it difficult for the other two to hear what she said, but they saw the young woman kiss his cheek before running back to them. Once at the portal she paused to watch as figures emerged from the shadows. Taking one last glance at Kenpachi she turned and stepped through the portal followed by Urahara. As the portal disappeared the area in which Kenpachi stood became filled with members of the Second Division all ready to attack.

"Where did they go, Zaraki," shouted Captain Sui-Feng.

"Like hell if I'm going to tell you, bitch," he grinned wickedly, excited for the fight to come.

"Take him into custody." At her order they all charged at him at once. He didn't care if he got in trouble for this. He was just happy to have a good fight now that his sparring partner was gone.

 _See ya later, Iz,_ was his last thought as he focused solely on that fight at hand.

Stepping through to the other side the three of them stood outside a small, two story shop. It was then that a beautifully tanned woman with long black hair darted out of the shop and threw her arms around Isolde.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Izzy," said the woman, stepping back to hold her at arm's length. Giving her a once over she looked at the bump and gasped softly with a smile, "So it's true."

"Mhm," nodded Isolde, grinning from her ear to ear. Just then the wind picked up slightly causing the young woman to shiver as she instinctively held her belly.

"Well, it's late so let's get everyone inside and settled before it starts to rain," spoke up Urahara from the back. They all agreed that was best as they made their way inside. Before stepping inside Isolde looked to the soon to be blocked moon shining down from the heavens. As she did so only one thought crossed her mind.

 _See you later, Kenny._


	2. Chapter 1

Clouds hung heavy over Karakura town boasting of the rain to come. They had teased the residents all day with their low rumbles and bright flashes of light. It had gotten to the point that the people wished it would rain already just to get it over with, but Mother Nature had other plans that day. Thus forcing the students of Karakura high school to stay inside even during their usual outside activities. In one classroom in particular pair of brown eyes glared up at the clouds daring them to rain on his parade, so to speak. He'd already made plans for after school with his new "roommate" and one of this closest friends to swing by his grandfather's dojo for what would be the first time in a year for him. And he would be damned if he let a little rain get in the way of his training that evening. With his newly acquired skills he needed all of the training he could get and soon.

"Ichigo," spoke a voice to his right, "Ichigo," the voice spoke louder. When he still hadn't responded a book came down on his head effectively snapping him out of his trance.

"What the hell was that for," he yelled, rubbing the top of his head. He wasn't surprised to see his new "roommate" holding the book that had thwacked him on the head.

"School's out, baka," she stated simply, putting her book away in her bag.

"I see that now, but did you really have to hit me," he yelled, standing up from his seat, but she had already turned her back along with a snickering Tatsuki as they walked to the door.

"Yes, now come on. We need to get there before it rains," she called over her shoulder. Choosing not to respond he stuck to grumbling as he followed the two girls out of the school. Parting ways with their other friends outside the gates they headed for the dojo.

Outside the air was thick with moisture from the inevitable rain. Silence filled the space between the three of them for the first block or so before Tatsuki spoke up. Asking the question that had even been on Rukia's mind.

"So, what made you want to do this, Ichigo? It can't be because you lost to me yesterday," she teased, causing a vein to pop in his head as he grit his teeth.

"I did not lose for your information. As a matter of fact, that was a tie," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I dunno, Ichigo, from where I was standing and you were laying that looked like a loss to me," she said, hands behind her head holding her school bag in both still.

"Screw you, Tatsuki," he yelled.

"Hmmm," she paused, as if to ponder his statement, "Nah, I'm good, but thanks for the offer Ichi." Ichigo growled as he swiped at her, but the girl just laughed as she ran down the street with him hot on her heel leaving Rukia behind.

The girl left behind by her cohorts simply chuckled at their antics picking up her pace slightly to catch up to them. She could feel the rain coming and did not want to be caught up in it. As she started at a jogging pace she felt as though she was being watched. Stopping for a moment she looked around only to catch a blur of black and red out of the corner of her eye. Whipping her head around she saw nothing there, but remained alert. Something, or rather yet, someone was following her and it made her nervous. So, picking up her pace she quickly caught up to the other two just as they reached the two large gates leading to the dojo. When she arrived Tatsuki was reading a note plastered to the gate.

Dear students,

We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you, but the dojo is closed for the foreseeable future. It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our dearly beloved, Daisuke Kurogane. As I am sure most of you would like to attend the funeral the family has decided to keep it between them. However, there will be a memorial service this coming Tuesday here at 6:30 pm. Finger foods and drinks will be provided as we all reminisce on a long and beautiful life taken from us far too soon. We thank you for your patience in these trying times as we grieve for the loss of a wonderful man. We promise to keep in touch with each and every one of you. Until then, stay safe.

Sincerely,  
The Kurogane family

"What the hell," screamed Tatsuki, but before either of them could reply she barged through the gates and up to the front doors of the dojo. Glancing at each other briefly the two of them followed the clearly irate girl as she stormed in. "Hey, open up," she yelled, banging on the door. After a few knocks the door opened suddenly causing her to stop her fist midair before hitting the face of a woman with long black hair and violet eyes.

"Oh my, Tatsuki, Ichigo, we weren't expecting you today," gasped the woman, as Tatsuki lowered her raised fist.

"Is that so? When were you planning on telling me," she growled irritated. "No, actually, when were you going to tell him," she said pointing to Ichigo, "Master Kurogane's own grandson?"

"Hey, that's not necessary. I'm sure they had their reasons," said Ichigo, placing his hand on the annoyed girl's shoulder.

"I know, but…," she tried to say, but stopped short unable to find the words as the news slowly began to sink in.

"No, she's right, Ichigo, you of all people deserve to know. Why don't you three come in? It's about to storm and I'm sure your parents would not want you out in this kind of weather." The woman's smile was soft, but held a deep sadness in it as she ushered the three teenagers into the dark house. "Koda," A boy of no more than ten years old with unruly sun kissed yellow hair and bright sea foam green eyes appeared at her side, "Please escort our guests to the main sitting room while I prepare tea."

"Yes ma'am," he said, turning to them, "follow me please."

As they got to the entrance to the main sitting room on the second floor Tatsuki looked back to where the woman had gone and then to her friends. "I'm going to check on her if you two want to leave you should probably go now before it rains," she said, turning her back to head towards the next floor, but stopped when Koda spoke up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The door's locked and she hasn't come out since we got the news earlier this morning."

"Thanks, but I'm going to check on my friend now," and with that said she walked up the stairs to the third floor.

"Do you think we should go after her," asked Rukia.

"That won't be necessary," responded the woman from earlier behind them. Turning around they saw her with a tray of tea in her hands staring past them to where Tatsuki had gone. "Despite the fact that Ichigo and the young miss are family, Tatsuki and she have been like sisters since Tatsuki started coming to this dojo ten years ago. If anyone can get through to the young miss it would be her. Now come on, let's have tea to warm us up, ok." She looked back to the three of them with a smile as she walked past them through the doorway.

The rest of the house was dark and quiet as Tatsuki made her way up the stairs and down another hall. Once she reached the all too familiar door she reached up with a tentative fist to knock on it. Several seconds went by and still there was no response. Trying the door knob, it was locked. Knocking once again she called out this time, "T-Taliah, it's me, Tatsuki." Still there was no response. As she was about to give up and walk away the door slowly opened a crack as a voice called out to her just as she turned her back.

"Wait, Tatsuki, don't leave, please," whispered the girl from behind her door. Without a second thought Tatsuki was in the room and the door was shut.

"How did it happen, Hisa," Ichigo asked, still not having touched his tea yet.

"We believe it was a heart attack sometime late last night. When he hadn't come down stairs for his usual routine I checked on him. I found him in his bed with no pulse." Sighing heavily Hisa set the cup down on the coffee table before adding, "Poor Liah, she's taking this the hardest out of everyone."

"I'm not surprised," said Ichigo, setting his cup down too before standing up. "Well, it's late and I'm sure my dad is worried about me. It was nice seeing you again, Hisa, and you, Koda," he said, glancing to the boy who nodded in response. "Let's go, Rukia."

"I'll walk you two out," said Hisa, standing up as well and following them down stairs.

Outside it had already started to rain so she gave them each an umbrella. Bidding them farewell with the promise of calling Ichigo's father about the funeral arrangements she closed the door as they walked away.

Back at the house the two of them got ready for bed having missed Yuzu's dinner, again. As they laid there in silence Rukia sensed something was off about the whole situation. She just knew there was more to it than a simple heart attack.

"Ichigo," she whispered into the dark.

"Hm," he mumbled back.

"Do you think that there is more to this than what they are saying?" There was a pause before he finally responded.

"I don't know, Rukia, just go to sleep." And with that he rolled over and went back to sleep, but not before wondering the same thing. _Oh well, guess I'll just have to ask Tatsuki tomorrow at school._


End file.
